September 2, 2024 • 27 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, it’s time for another one of Roger McGrath’s “Hollywood Goes To War” stories. Here’s the story of Henry Fonda.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including yours. Send them to Ouramerican Stories dot com. They're
some of our favorites. We love to tell stories about
movies and the culture. We also love telling stories about history,
and this combines both elements beautifully. It's time for another
(00:33):
one of our Roger McGrath's Hollywood Goes to Wars stories.
We've done a number of them. Go to our website
and do a search for Jimmy Stewart's and so many more.
McGrath is the author of Gunfighters, Hollyman and Vigilantes, Violence
on the Frontier. A US marine and former history professor
at UCLA, Doctor McGrath has appeared on numerous History Channel
(00:55):
documentaries and is a regular contributor for US. Here at
Our American Story, here's Roger McGrath with the story of
Henry Fonda.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Henry find That was one of the greatest actors of
Hollywood's Gold in the Age, appearing in nearly fifty movies
in the legendary years of the nineteen thirties, forties.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
And fifties.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
He would add thirty five more.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Movies in the nineteen sixties and seventies. In nineteen forty
he was nominated for Best Actor for his role as
Tom Joad in the Grapes of Wrath, and then forty
one years later won the Oscar for Best Actor for
his role as Norman Thayer in On Golden Pond. Find
(01:38):
that played a wide variety of characters in films of
many different genres, including several that are considered classics. Drums
along the Mohawk, Young Mister Lincoln, The Grapes of Wrath,
The ox Bow Incident, forda Batchee, Twelve Angry Men, Mister Roberts,
(01:58):
The Longest Day. He was awarded a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in nineteen sixty. Henry Fonda is
born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in nineteen five to William
Fonda and his wife HERBERTA. Young Henry is of Dutch, English, Scottish,
and German descent. Most of his ancestors were here in
(02:21):
America before the Revolution. In nineteen six, the family moves
to Omaha. His sister Eriot is born in nineteen eight
and his second sister, Jane, in nineteen nine. His family's
close knit and raised in the Christian science faith. His
father has a successful printing business. Fonda is a good
(02:43):
swimmer and runner, but spends much of his spare time
drawing and making models. Like so many young boys of
his era, he becomes a boy scout. By the time
he graduates high school, it has grown to more than
six foot one, thin as a rail. He goes off
to the University of Minnesota to major in journalism, but
(03:07):
works too part time jobs to support himself and has
little time to study or sleep. After completing two years,
he tires of the grind and returns to Omah. Dorothy Brando,
a friend of his mother's, urges Fonda to audition for
the part of a teenager in a play put on
(03:30):
by the Omaha Community Playhouse. Fonda gives it a try
and is cast in the role. More plays and more
roles follow, and Fonda becomes determined to make acting his profession.
Dorothy Brando, and experienced actress on the stage, continues to
mentor Fonda. Dorothy will later mentor her own son, Marlon Brando.
(03:56):
In nineteen twenty, Fonda heads east and joins the un
University Players in Massachusetts. In nineteen thirty one, he marries
another of the players, Margaret Sullivan, who becomes the first
of five successive missus Fonda's. In nineteen thirty two, Margaret
heads to New York City for a role as a
(04:18):
female lead in a major stage production, and Fonda follows. However,
the couple are soon divorced, and Fonda struggles finding parts.
To save money, he shares a small apartment with the
writer Josh Logan and another aspiring actor, James Stewart. Hank
(04:40):
Fonda and Jimmy Stewart are alike in many ways, both
from middle class families in America's heartland, both tall and
thin and boyish looking, and both passionate about acting. Politically,
though they mostly disagree, Fonda is a solid Democrat and
Stuart is a staunch Republican. Work on the Broadway stage
(05:05):
picks up for both of them.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
During nineteen thirty three. In nineteen thirty four, and.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Both catch the eye of Hollywood scouts. Fonda arrives in
Hollywood in nineteen thirty five to take the role of
the male lead in The Farmer Takes a Wife. Fonda
has played the same part in the stage play if
the same name on Broadway, so he is well prepared
for the movie role. What he isn't well prepared for
(05:35):
is the money he is suddenly making three thousand dollars
a week. And this is in the depths of the
Great Depression, when fifty dollars a week is considered good
money for a professional. Stewart also arrives in Hollywood in
nineteen thirty five to make his first movie. Soon, Fonda
(05:56):
and Stuart are renting a house together and dating and
all the young starlets they can. From nearly starving in
a small apartment in New York, they are now living
it up in a large home in an upscale neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And you've been listening to Roger McGrath tell the story
of Henry Fonda, and my goodness, what a roommate to
have each of them. And what are the odds that
Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda would share, Well, let's just
say share a very small shelter because times were tight
back when they moved to New York and were aspiring actors.
When we come back, more of this remarkable life story
(06:33):
a part of our Hollywood Goes to War series here
on our American Stories, Henry Fonda's story continued. Folks, if
(07:31):
you love the stories we tell about this great country,
and especially the stories of America's rich past. Know that
all of our stories about American history, from war to innovation,
culture and faith, are brought to us by the great
folks at Hillsdale College, a place where students study all
the things that are beautiful in life and all the
things that are good in life. And if you can't
get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their
(07:54):
free and terrific online courses. Go to Hillsdale dot edu
to learn more. And we continue with our American stories
and with Roger McGrath telling the story of Henry Fonda
(08:16):
as a part of our Hollywood Goes to War continuing series.
Let's pick up when we last left off. Here's McGrath.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Fonda arrives in Hollywood in nineteen thirty five to take
the role of the male lead in The Farmer Takes
a Wife. What he isn't well prepared for is the
money he is suddenly making three thousand dollars a week.
And this is in the depths of the Great Depression,
(08:46):
when fifty dollars a week is considered good money for
a professional. Jimmy Stewart also arrives in Hollywood in nineteen
thirty five to make his first movie. Soon, Fonda and
Stuart are ready house to get and dating all the
young starlets they can. Fonde appears in two more movies
in nineteen thirty five, and then in three movies in
(09:09):
nineteen thirty six. It's in nineteen thirty six that he
marries his second wife, Francis Seymour, who will give birth
to Fonda's daughter Jane and his son Peter. Nineteen thirty
seven and thirty eight see Fonda in nine more movies.
His fame grows and the money rolls in, but the
(09:32):
best is yet to come. In nineteen thirty nine, Fond
the plays Frank James in the movie Jesse James to
her own Power plays Jesse. Although the movie takes quite
a few liberties with the real story of the outlaw brothers,
it's a box office smash. It's also in nineteen thirty
(09:53):
nine that find the place Abraham Lincoln in Young Man Lincoln,
directed by John Ford. The movie is in the hit
Fonda stars and still another john Ford hit in nineteen
thirty nine, Drums Along the Mohawk, set in New York's
Mohawk Valley during the Revolutionary War.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Fonda gives another great performance.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Which includes one of the greatest escapes in movie history
when he runs for his life from a band of
Indian warriors. Fonda's movies in nineteen forty include still another
john Ford smash's success, The Grapes of Wrath. Fonda is
nominated for Best Actor for portraying Tom Joad. He's on
(10:37):
top of his game and stars in three more movies
in nineteen forty including the Return of Frank James. It's
three movies for Fonda in nineteen forty one and seven
in nineteen forty two, including the critically acclaimed The Oxbow Incident.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
The United States is now.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
In World War Two, and Fonda begins thinking about enlisting
the director he has worked with so successfully. John Ford
is already serving in the Navy and was wounded in
the Battle of Midway. Fonda's good friend Jimmy Stewart is
already a pilot in the Army Air Corps.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
The last movie Fonda makes.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
In nineteen forty two, The Immortal Surgeon, which will be
released in nineteen forty three, as Fonda in the role
of the Canadian serving in the British Army in North Africa,
who has transformed from a diffident and shy young man
into a war hero acting in the movie, convinces Fonda
(11:41):
to quit Hollywood, declaring I don't want to be in
a fake war in a studio, and he enlists in
the Navy during the fall of nineteen forty two. Fonda
excels in Navy boot camp and upon graduation, is sent.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
To quartermass school.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
In May nineteen forty three, he graduates in the top
five percent of his quartermaster class. He's now recommended for
a commission. While his paperwork is being processed, He's assigned
as Quartermaster third class to the destroyer the USS Saturdley,
which is fresh out of a shipyard in.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Tacoma, Washington.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Saturdley's sea trials take her from Puget Sound to San Diego.
After a week in San Diego, orders arrive for Fonda,
telling him to report for commissioning in New York. Fonda
can fly or take a train to New York, but
instead he stays aboard Saturday, which is set to sail
through the Panma Canal and on to Norfolk, Virginia. He
(12:49):
doesn't want to leave Saturday a quartermaster short and he
reckons he can use more experience at sea. After Saturday
arrives at Norfolk, Fonda takes a train to New York
and reports to Naval Headquarters. He's discharged as an enlisted
man and then sworn in as a lieutenant junior grade,
(13:10):
equivalent to a first lieutenant in the Marines or Army.
He is soon ordered to the Naval Air Station at Anacostia, Washington,
d C. To make training films. Fana is terribly upset
he didn't leave Hollywood to make films for the Navy.
Fonda's commanding officer, who is stuck behind the desk himself,
(13:32):
empathizes with the Lieutenant JG. And cuts orders for Fonda
to be trained in air combat intelligence at the Naval
Air Station quantcet Point, Rhode Island. Fana enjoys both his
training at quantt Point and his classmates. For the most part,
they are an older and well educated group. Many of
(13:55):
them come from the professional ranks in civilian life. There's
a district attorney, judge, and a mayor among those training.
Fonda and the others spend hours learning coding, photo analysis,
an enemy plane and ship identification. After completing his training
as an Air Combat Intelligence Officer or ECI officer for short,
(14:21):
Fonda is sent to Pearl Harbor. He now goes through
a course in anti submarine warfare at Kanioe before being
assigned to the USS Curtis, a seaplane tender that is
currently at Quadlan Attoll in the Marshall Islands.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
In May nineteen forty four.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Fonda flies to Quadulin, wrested from the Japanese in February,
and becomes a member of Curtis's complement of one hundred
officers and more than one thousand men.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Most of them are veterans.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Of the attack on Pearl Harbor and battles in the Solomon,
Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Fonda assumes duties as an assistant
ACI officer. He's finally in a forward area and he's
eager to see action.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
He soon will.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Curt Of sails to any we talk, also recently taken
from the Japanese, and begins preparing for the American invasion
of the Marianas. Some twelve hundred miles to the west.
A General quarter's alarm goes off and find a racist
to his battle station, thinking he's in for his first action,
but nothing materializes. The alarm will go off several times
(15:36):
over the next several weeks with the reports of Japanese
subs or airplanes in the area. Curtis is responsible for servicing, resupplying,
and if needed, repairing the PBY Catalina seaplane. This means
that PBY can range far and wide without worrying.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
About a land base.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Most important for an air combat intelligence officer such as
Henry Fonda, the PBY pilots bring back photographs of Japanese
ships in Japanese installations on various islands. The photos have
to be analyzed and the pilots have to be debriefed.
The intelligence is then forwarded the fleet headquarters. The base
(16:21):
of work for Curtis increases with the American invasion of
the Mariana Islands, beginning with Saipan in June nineteen forty
four and followed by Guam and Tinian in July. By
August twelve, Curtis is anchored at Saipan. A few months later,
Tokyo Rose mentions Curtis in one of her broadcasts and
(16:44):
says the actor Henry Fonda is aboard. She promises that
Japanese forces are on their way to sink this ship.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And you've been listening to Roger McGrath tell the story
of Henry Fonda and my goodness, right in the middle
of one of the most prolific careers in Hollywood history,
including an Oscar nomination, motion picture box office successes, working
with the greatest director of his time, John Ford, something
starts to bug him. His pals, and that's Jimmy Stewart
(17:14):
and John Ford were both serving. Ford got wounded and
his time spent in the Navy. At midway, Jimmy Stewart
had volunteered for perhaps the most dangerous activity you could imagine,
and that was joining the Army Air Corps. A call
to duty called Henry Fonda hard. And when we come
back more of this remarkable story, a part of our
(17:35):
Hollywood goes to war theories, the story of Henry Fonda
going to war here on our American story. And we
(18:08):
continue with our American stories. Let's pick up with Roger McGrath.
It's August forty four. Henry Fonda's ship Curtis is anchored
at Saipan. A few months later, Tokyo Rose mentions Curtis
in one of her broadcasts and says that actor Henry
Fonda is aboard. He promises that Japanese forces are on
(18:29):
their way to sink the ship. Here's McGrath.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Sure enough.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
A few days later, Curtis is attacked by Japanese planes.
Fonda is at his battle station to witness it. The
pilot of one of the planes decides on a kamikazi
attack and dives is plane directly at Curtis. Fire from
the Many Goods of Curtis sen the Japanese plane crashing
into the sea, but not before it misses the ship
(18:59):
by near twenty five yards. The next day, Fonda and
two young sailors don diving gear and swim down to
the wrecked Japanese plane. They find the plane upside down
on the ocean floor, the Japanese pilot and his bameder
still strapped into their seats. Fonda retrieves the pilot's flight log,
(19:22):
maps and several other items. Backboard Curtis. Fonda pours over
the recovered items and determines that the plane flew from
Pagan Island, which lies some two hundred miles north of Saipan.
The intel is radioed the fleet headquarters and air strikes
are immediately launched against pagan Japanese submarines are in ever
(19:49):
present danger. Occasionally their radio transmissions are intercepted and decoded.
This enables Fonda and other ACEI officers to attempt a
plot a course for a Japanese sub and devised a
search pattern. Fonda strikes gold when his estimated location for
a Japanese sub enables Navy fighters to catch a sub
(20:13):
on the surface and sink it. In November nineteen forty four,
Lieutenant JG. Henry Fonda is promoted to lieutenant. Four months later,
he is awarded a Bronze Star for his outstanding contributions
to the Navy's Mariana and Ewojima campaigns. The citation reads,
(20:36):
in part, for distinguishing himself by meritorious service in connection
with operations against the enemy. As an assistant Operations officer
and Air Combat Intelligence officer, he contributed materially to the
planning and execution of air operations which effectively support the campaigns,
(21:01):
neutralized enemy installations on nearby enemy hell of islands and actolls,
and which subsequently developed into search missions in Empire waters
and strikes on the Japanese mainland. His keen intelligence, untiring energy,
and conscientious application to duty were in a large measure
(21:24):
responsible for a successful contribution to the Central Pacific campaign.
In March nineteen forty five, Fonda is transferred from his
billet aboard Curtis to serve on the staff of Admiral
John Hoover on Guam. Hoover's the Commander Central Pacific Forward
(21:47):
Area and is responsible for support of fleet operations with
island based aircraft. Hoover had used Curtis as his flagship,
and now he shifts his flag to the Navy base
at Appra Harbor on Guam. The move ashore may have
saved Fonda's life. While in the waters off Okinawa in
(22:10):
June nineteen forty five, a kamikaze scores a direct hit
on Curtis and thirty five of Fonda's old shipmates.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Are killed in twenty one wounded.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Lieutenant Fonda continues his excellent contributions, as confirmed by his
officer's fitness report from March to August nineteen forty five.
Fonda is rated in the top ten percent in every
category the rating. Officer, Commander Lyle Kepke says Lieutenant Fonda
(22:44):
performed all his duties in an outstanding manner. His pleasing personality,
his ability to work with others, his intelligence, his untiring endurance,
and willingness made him a superior ear combat intelligence officer
while attached to this command. Early in August nineteen forty five,
(23:06):
Fonda flies with Commander Kepke from Guam Titinian to meet
the pilots and crews of the B twenty Nins who
will drop the Adam bombs on Japan in to be
briefed on the operation. Fonda doesn't know exactly what these
bombs are, but he is told their effects will be devastating.
On August six, Anola Gay, commanded by Paul Tibbets drops
(23:30):
an Adam Baum on Roshima, and the August nine box Car,
commanded by Charles Sweeney, drops at Adam Baum on Nagasaki.
The next day, Lieutenant Fonda receives orders to report to
the Naval Director of Public Information in Washington, DC. Fonda's
(23:51):
war is over. He spends one month in Washington and
then is ordered to Los Angeles for separation from active duty.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
He spends six weeks.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
On leave as home in Brentwood, and then is formerly
separated in November nineteen forty five. In nineteen forty six,
Henry Fonda is back making movies, appearing as Wyatt Earp.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
In john Ford's My Darling. Clementine.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Finda's movie making pace picks up with three movies in
nineteen forty seven and two in nineteen forty eight, including
the john Ford classic Fort Apache, in which find The
plays an authoritarian cavalry officer. Fonder will appear in several
dozen more movies in the nineteen fifties, sixties, and seventies,
(24:42):
playing military officers several times, including his role as Lieutenant
j G. Doug Roberts in another john Ford classic, Mister Roberts.
Although find That opposes sending American troops to Vietnam, he
nonetheless goes on a USO tour of South Vietnam in
nineteen sixty seven.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
He thinks it's important to boost.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
The morale of the troops the war is not their fault.
Opposing the war but supporting the troops later leads to
a temporary falling out with his daughter Jane, who makes
an ill advised trip to North Vietnam and his photographs
sitting in an anti aircraft gun and placement with envy
troops fond that calls are foolish and frivolous. Most people
(25:30):
today probably think of Henry Fonda only as one of
Hollywood's iconic movie stars and don't know they turned his
back on Hollywood and the fame and fortune that were
his to join the US Navy during World War Two
and serve in the Pacific. Henry Fonda was awarded an
(25:51):
Oscar for Best Actor, but he also was awarded a
Bronze Star for meritorious service.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
And great work on the piece, as always by Greg
in his special thanks to Roger McGrath as always author
of Gunfighters and Vigilantes, a former UCLA professor, and always
a US Marine. And my goodness, I wonder which stood
higher up on his mantle, the Bronze Star or the Oscar.
He'd been nominated for an Oscar in nineteen forty for
(26:22):
John Ford's epic The Grapes of Wrath, but he won
the Oscar forty years later, starring in a film with
his daughter Jane called On Golden Pond. If you ever
get a chance, rented it still works. It still plays
that he went to support the troops on the USO
Tour while being against the war is just how classy
(26:44):
Henry Fonda was and how sensible he was. The boys
didn't choose the war. They were just well representing their country.
The story of Henry Fonda part of our Hollywood Goes
to War series Here on our American Stories
Speaker 2 (27:11):
S
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including yours. Send them to Ouramerican Stories dot com. They're
some of our favorites. We love to tell stories about
movies and the culture. We also love telling stories about history,
and this combines both elements beautifully. It's time for another
(00:33):
one of our Roger McGrath's Hollywood Goes to Wars stories.
We've done a number of them. Go to our website
and do a search for Jimmy Stewart's and so many more.
McGrath is the author of Gunfighters, Hollyman and Vigilantes, Violence
on the Frontier. A US marine and former history professor
at UCLA, Doctor McGrath has appeared on numerous History Channel
(00:55):
documentaries and is a regular contributor for US. Here at
Our American Story, here's Roger McGrath with the story of
Henry Fonda.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Henry find That was one of the greatest actors of
Hollywood's Gold in the Age, appearing in nearly fifty movies
in the legendary years of the nineteen thirties, forties.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
And fifties.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
He would add thirty five more.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Movies in the nineteen sixties and seventies. In nineteen forty
he was nominated for Best Actor for his role as
Tom Joad in the Grapes of Wrath, and then forty
one years later won the Oscar for Best Actor for
his role as Norman Thayer in On Golden Pond. Find
(01:38):
that played a wide variety of characters in films of
many different genres, including several that are considered classics. Drums
along the Mohawk, Young Mister Lincoln, The Grapes of Wrath,
The ox Bow Incident, forda Batchee, Twelve Angry Men, Mister Roberts,
(01:58):
The Longest Day. He was awarded a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in nineteen sixty. Henry Fonda is
born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in nineteen five to William
Fonda and his wife HERBERTA. Young Henry is of Dutch, English, Scottish,
and German descent. Most of his ancestors were here in
(02:21):
America before the Revolution. In nineteen six, the family moves
to Omaha. His sister Eriot is born in nineteen eight
and his second sister, Jane, in nineteen nine. His family's
close knit and raised in the Christian science faith. His
father has a successful printing business. Fonda is a good
(02:43):
swimmer and runner, but spends much of his spare time
drawing and making models. Like so many young boys of
his era, he becomes a boy scout. By the time
he graduates high school, it has grown to more than
six foot one, thin as a rail. He goes off
to the University of Minnesota to major in journalism, but
(03:07):
works too part time jobs to support himself and has
little time to study or sleep. After completing two years,
he tires of the grind and returns to Omah. Dorothy Brando,
a friend of his mother's, urges Fonda to audition for
the part of a teenager in a play put on
(03:30):
by the Omaha Community Playhouse. Fonda gives it a try
and is cast in the role. More plays and more
roles follow, and Fonda becomes determined to make acting his profession.
Dorothy Brando, and experienced actress on the stage, continues to
mentor Fonda. Dorothy will later mentor her own son, Marlon Brando.
(03:56):
In nineteen twenty, Fonda heads east and joins the un
University Players in Massachusetts. In nineteen thirty one, he marries
another of the players, Margaret Sullivan, who becomes the first
of five successive missus Fonda's. In nineteen thirty two, Margaret
heads to New York City for a role as a
(04:18):
female lead in a major stage production, and Fonda follows. However,
the couple are soon divorced, and Fonda struggles finding parts.
To save money, he shares a small apartment with the
writer Josh Logan and another aspiring actor, James Stewart. Hank
(04:40):
Fonda and Jimmy Stewart are alike in many ways, both
from middle class families in America's heartland, both tall and
thin and boyish looking, and both passionate about acting. Politically,
though they mostly disagree, Fonda is a solid Democrat and
Stuart is a staunch Republican. Work on the Broadway stage
(05:05):
picks up for both of them.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
During nineteen thirty three. In nineteen thirty four, and.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Both catch the eye of Hollywood scouts. Fonda arrives in
Hollywood in nineteen thirty five to take the role of
the male lead in The Farmer Takes a Wife. Fonda
has played the same part in the stage play if
the same name on Broadway, so he is well prepared
for the movie role. What he isn't well prepared for
(05:35):
is the money he is suddenly making three thousand dollars
a week. And this is in the depths of the
Great Depression, when fifty dollars a week is considered good
money for a professional. Stewart also arrives in Hollywood in
nineteen thirty five to make his first movie. Soon, Fonda
(05:56):
and Stuart are renting a house together and dating and
all the young starlets they can. From nearly starving in
a small apartment in New York, they are now living
it up in a large home in an upscale neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And you've been listening to Roger McGrath tell the story
of Henry Fonda, and my goodness, what a roommate to
have each of them. And what are the odds that
Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda would share, Well, let's just
say share a very small shelter because times were tight
back when they moved to New York and were aspiring actors.
When we come back, more of this remarkable life story
(06:33):
a part of our Hollywood Goes to War series here
on our American Stories, Henry Fonda's story continued. Folks, if
(07:31):
you love the stories we tell about this great country,
and especially the stories of America's rich past. Know that
all of our stories about American history, from war to innovation,
culture and faith, are brought to us by the great
folks at Hillsdale College, a place where students study all
the things that are beautiful in life and all the
things that are good in life. And if you can't
get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their
(07:54):
free and terrific online courses. Go to Hillsdale dot edu
to learn more. And we continue with our American stories
and with Roger McGrath telling the story of Henry Fonda
(08:16):
as a part of our Hollywood Goes to War continuing series.
Let's pick up when we last left off. Here's McGrath.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Fonda arrives in Hollywood in nineteen thirty five to take
the role of the male lead in The Farmer Takes
a Wife. What he isn't well prepared for is the
money he is suddenly making three thousand dollars a week.
And this is in the depths of the Great Depression,
(08:46):
when fifty dollars a week is considered good money for
a professional. Jimmy Stewart also arrives in Hollywood in nineteen
thirty five to make his first movie. Soon, Fonda and
Stuart are ready house to get and dating all the
young starlets they can. Fonde appears in two more movies
in nineteen thirty five, and then in three movies in
(09:09):
nineteen thirty six. It's in nineteen thirty six that he
marries his second wife, Francis Seymour, who will give birth
to Fonda's daughter Jane and his son Peter. Nineteen thirty
seven and thirty eight see Fonda in nine more movies.
His fame grows and the money rolls in, but the
(09:32):
best is yet to come. In nineteen thirty nine, Fond
the plays Frank James in the movie Jesse James to
her own Power plays Jesse. Although the movie takes quite
a few liberties with the real story of the outlaw brothers,
it's a box office smash. It's also in nineteen thirty
(09:53):
nine that find the place Abraham Lincoln in Young Man Lincoln,
directed by John Ford. The movie is in the hit
Fonda stars and still another john Ford hit in nineteen
thirty nine, Drums Along the Mohawk, set in New York's
Mohawk Valley during the Revolutionary War.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Fonda gives another great performance.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Which includes one of the greatest escapes in movie history
when he runs for his life from a band of
Indian warriors. Fonda's movies in nineteen forty include still another
john Ford smash's success, The Grapes of Wrath. Fonda is
nominated for Best Actor for portraying Tom Joad. He's on
(10:37):
top of his game and stars in three more movies
in nineteen forty including the Return of Frank James. It's
three movies for Fonda in nineteen forty one and seven
in nineteen forty two, including the critically acclaimed The Oxbow Incident.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
The United States is now.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
In World War Two, and Fonda begins thinking about enlisting
the director he has worked with so successfully. John Ford
is already serving in the Navy and was wounded in
the Battle of Midway. Fonda's good friend Jimmy Stewart is
already a pilot in the Army Air Corps.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
The last movie Fonda makes.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
In nineteen forty two, The Immortal Surgeon, which will be
released in nineteen forty three, as Fonda in the role
of the Canadian serving in the British Army in North Africa,
who has transformed from a diffident and shy young man
into a war hero acting in the movie, convinces Fonda
(11:41):
to quit Hollywood, declaring I don't want to be in
a fake war in a studio, and he enlists in
the Navy during the fall of nineteen forty two. Fonda
excels in Navy boot camp and upon graduation, is sent.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
To quartermass school.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
In May nineteen forty three, he graduates in the top
five percent of his quartermaster class. He's now recommended for
a commission. While his paperwork is being processed, He's assigned
as Quartermaster third class to the destroyer the USS Saturdley,
which is fresh out of a shipyard in.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Tacoma, Washington.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Saturdley's sea trials take her from Puget Sound to San Diego.
After a week in San Diego, orders arrive for Fonda,
telling him to report for commissioning in New York. Fonda
can fly or take a train to New York, but
instead he stays aboard Saturday, which is set to sail
through the Panma Canal and on to Norfolk, Virginia. He
(12:49):
doesn't want to leave Saturday a quartermaster short and he
reckons he can use more experience at sea. After Saturday
arrives at Norfolk, Fonda takes a train to New York
and reports to Naval Headquarters. He's discharged as an enlisted
man and then sworn in as a lieutenant junior grade,
(13:10):
equivalent to a first lieutenant in the Marines or Army.
He is soon ordered to the Naval Air Station at Anacostia, Washington,
d C. To make training films. Fana is terribly upset
he didn't leave Hollywood to make films for the Navy.
Fonda's commanding officer, who is stuck behind the desk himself,
(13:32):
empathizes with the Lieutenant JG. And cuts orders for Fonda
to be trained in air combat intelligence at the Naval
Air Station quantcet Point, Rhode Island. Fana enjoys both his
training at quantt Point and his classmates. For the most part,
they are an older and well educated group. Many of
(13:55):
them come from the professional ranks in civilian life. There's
a district attorney, judge, and a mayor among those training.
Fonda and the others spend hours learning coding, photo analysis,
an enemy plane and ship identification. After completing his training
as an Air Combat Intelligence Officer or ECI officer for short,
(14:21):
Fonda is sent to Pearl Harbor. He now goes through
a course in anti submarine warfare at Kanioe before being
assigned to the USS Curtis, a seaplane tender that is
currently at Quadlan Attoll in the Marshall Islands.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
In May nineteen forty four.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Fonda flies to Quadulin, wrested from the Japanese in February,
and becomes a member of Curtis's complement of one hundred
officers and more than one thousand men.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Most of them are veterans.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Of the attack on Pearl Harbor and battles in the Solomon,
Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Fonda assumes duties as an assistant
ACI officer. He's finally in a forward area and he's
eager to see action.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
He soon will.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Curt Of sails to any we talk, also recently taken
from the Japanese, and begins preparing for the American invasion
of the Marianas. Some twelve hundred miles to the west.
A General quarter's alarm goes off and find a racist
to his battle station, thinking he's in for his first action,
but nothing materializes. The alarm will go off several times
(15:36):
over the next several weeks with the reports of Japanese
subs or airplanes in the area. Curtis is responsible for servicing, resupplying,
and if needed, repairing the PBY Catalina seaplane. This means
that PBY can range far and wide without worrying.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
About a land base.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Most important for an air combat intelligence officer such as
Henry Fonda, the PBY pilots bring back photographs of Japanese
ships in Japanese installations on various islands. The photos have
to be analyzed and the pilots have to be debriefed.
The intelligence is then forwarded the fleet headquarters. The base
(16:21):
of work for Curtis increases with the American invasion of
the Mariana Islands, beginning with Saipan in June nineteen forty
four and followed by Guam and Tinian in July. By
August twelve, Curtis is anchored at Saipan. A few months later,
Tokyo Rose mentions Curtis in one of her broadcasts and
(16:44):
says the actor Henry Fonda is aboard. She promises that
Japanese forces are on their way to sink this ship.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And you've been listening to Roger McGrath tell the story
of Henry Fonda and my goodness, right in the middle
of one of the most prolific careers in Hollywood history,
including an Oscar nomination, motion picture box office successes, working
with the greatest director of his time, John Ford, something
starts to bug him. His pals, and that's Jimmy Stewart
(17:14):
and John Ford were both serving. Ford got wounded and
his time spent in the Navy. At midway, Jimmy Stewart
had volunteered for perhaps the most dangerous activity you could imagine,
and that was joining the Army Air Corps. A call
to duty called Henry Fonda hard. And when we come
back more of this remarkable story, a part of our
(17:35):
Hollywood goes to war theories, the story of Henry Fonda
going to war here on our American story. And we
(18:08):
continue with our American stories. Let's pick up with Roger McGrath.
It's August forty four. Henry Fonda's ship Curtis is anchored
at Saipan. A few months later, Tokyo Rose mentions Curtis
in one of her broadcasts and says that actor Henry
Fonda is aboard. He promises that Japanese forces are on
(18:29):
their way to sink the ship. Here's McGrath.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Sure enough.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
A few days later, Curtis is attacked by Japanese planes.
Fonda is at his battle station to witness it. The
pilot of one of the planes decides on a kamikazi
attack and dives is plane directly at Curtis. Fire from
the Many Goods of Curtis sen the Japanese plane crashing
into the sea, but not before it misses the ship
(18:59):
by near twenty five yards. The next day, Fonda and
two young sailors don diving gear and swim down to
the wrecked Japanese plane. They find the plane upside down
on the ocean floor, the Japanese pilot and his bameder
still strapped into their seats. Fonda retrieves the pilot's flight log,
(19:22):
maps and several other items. Backboard Curtis. Fonda pours over
the recovered items and determines that the plane flew from
Pagan Island, which lies some two hundred miles north of Saipan.
The intel is radioed the fleet headquarters and air strikes
are immediately launched against pagan Japanese submarines are in ever
(19:49):
present danger. Occasionally their radio transmissions are intercepted and decoded.
This enables Fonda and other ACEI officers to attempt a
plot a course for a Japanese sub and devised a
search pattern. Fonda strikes gold when his estimated location for
a Japanese sub enables Navy fighters to catch a sub
(20:13):
on the surface and sink it. In November nineteen forty four,
Lieutenant JG. Henry Fonda is promoted to lieutenant. Four months later,
he is awarded a Bronze Star for his outstanding contributions
to the Navy's Mariana and Ewojima campaigns. The citation reads,
(20:36):
in part, for distinguishing himself by meritorious service in connection
with operations against the enemy. As an assistant Operations officer
and Air Combat Intelligence officer, he contributed materially to the
planning and execution of air operations which effectively support the campaigns,
(21:01):
neutralized enemy installations on nearby enemy hell of islands and actolls,
and which subsequently developed into search missions in Empire waters
and strikes on the Japanese mainland. His keen intelligence, untiring energy,
and conscientious application to duty were in a large measure
(21:24):
responsible for a successful contribution to the Central Pacific campaign.
In March nineteen forty five, Fonda is transferred from his
billet aboard Curtis to serve on the staff of Admiral
John Hoover on Guam. Hoover's the Commander Central Pacific Forward
(21:47):
Area and is responsible for support of fleet operations with
island based aircraft. Hoover had used Curtis as his flagship,
and now he shifts his flag to the Navy base
at Appra Harbor on Guam. The move ashore may have
saved Fonda's life. While in the waters off Okinawa in
(22:10):
June nineteen forty five, a kamikaze scores a direct hit
on Curtis and thirty five of Fonda's old shipmates.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Are killed in twenty one wounded.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Lieutenant Fonda continues his excellent contributions, as confirmed by his
officer's fitness report from March to August nineteen forty five.
Fonda is rated in the top ten percent in every
category the rating. Officer, Commander Lyle Kepke says Lieutenant Fonda
(22:44):
performed all his duties in an outstanding manner. His pleasing personality,
his ability to work with others, his intelligence, his untiring endurance,
and willingness made him a superior ear combat intelligence officer
while attached to this command. Early in August nineteen forty five,
(23:06):
Fonda flies with Commander Kepke from Guam Titinian to meet
the pilots and crews of the B twenty Nins who
will drop the Adam bombs on Japan in to be
briefed on the operation. Fonda doesn't know exactly what these
bombs are, but he is told their effects will be devastating.
On August six, Anola Gay, commanded by Paul Tibbets drops
(23:30):
an Adam Baum on Roshima, and the August nine box Car,
commanded by Charles Sweeney, drops at Adam Baum on Nagasaki.
The next day, Lieutenant Fonda receives orders to report to
the Naval Director of Public Information in Washington, DC. Fonda's
(23:51):
war is over. He spends one month in Washington and
then is ordered to Los Angeles for separation from active duty.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
He spends six weeks.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
On leave as home in Brentwood, and then is formerly
separated in November nineteen forty five. In nineteen forty six,
Henry Fonda is back making movies, appearing as Wyatt Earp.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
In john Ford's My Darling. Clementine.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Finda's movie making pace picks up with three movies in
nineteen forty seven and two in nineteen forty eight, including
the john Ford classic Fort Apache, in which find The
plays an authoritarian cavalry officer. Fonder will appear in several
dozen more movies in the nineteen fifties, sixties, and seventies,
(24:42):
playing military officers several times, including his role as Lieutenant
j G. Doug Roberts in another john Ford classic, Mister Roberts.
Although find That opposes sending American troops to Vietnam, he
nonetheless goes on a USO tour of South Vietnam in
nineteen sixty seven.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
He thinks it's important to boost.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
The morale of the troops the war is not their fault.
Opposing the war but supporting the troops later leads to
a temporary falling out with his daughter Jane, who makes
an ill advised trip to North Vietnam and his photographs
sitting in an anti aircraft gun and placement with envy
troops fond that calls are foolish and frivolous. Most people
(25:30):
today probably think of Henry Fonda only as one of
Hollywood's iconic movie stars and don't know they turned his
back on Hollywood and the fame and fortune that were
his to join the US Navy during World War Two
and serve in the Pacific. Henry Fonda was awarded an
(25:51):
Oscar for Best Actor, but he also was awarded a
Bronze Star for meritorious service.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
And great work on the piece, as always by Greg
in his special thanks to Roger McGrath as always author
of Gunfighters and Vigilantes, a former UCLA professor, and always
a US Marine. And my goodness, I wonder which stood
higher up on his mantle, the Bronze Star or the Oscar.
He'd been nominated for an Oscar in nineteen forty for
(26:22):
John Ford's epic The Grapes of Wrath, but he won
the Oscar forty years later, starring in a film with
his daughter Jane called On Golden Pond. If you ever
get a chance, rented it still works. It still plays
that he went to support the troops on the USO
Tour while being against the war is just how classy
(26:44):
Henry Fonda was and how sensible he was. The boys
didn't choose the war. They were just well representing their country.
The story of Henry Fonda part of our Hollywood Goes
to War series Here on our American Stories
Speaker 2 (27:11):
S
Host
Lee Habeeb
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